Jay Ducote, a Baton Rouge program coordinator, Jason Broussard, a Madisonville oil rig engineer, and New Orleans nursing student Brant Langlinais all flew out to Los Angeles to cook dishes for the show’s judges: Ramsay, the Chicago chef Graham Elliot and Joe Bastianich, who runs restaurants on both coasts with Mario Batali.

Three Louisianans competed last year for the $250,000 cash prize and cookbook publishing deal, which was ultimately won by Whitney Miller, a college student from Poplarville, Mississippi. An open casting call for the new season was held in New Orleans in November.

Dave Walker will have more on the show and the local contestants before the new "MasterChef" premieres June 6.